阿门 (ā mén) — amen (used at the end of a Christian prayer)

Definition

noun

amen (used at the end of a Christian prayer)

阿门。
Dà jiā shuō wán ā mén jiù huí jiā le.
Everyone said amen and then went home.
阿门。
Tā zài qí dǎo shí shuō le ā mén.
He said amen during the prayer.
阿门。
Xìn tú men yì qǐ shuō ā mén.
The believers said amen together.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

可

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 阜 points to a mound, and 可 gives the pronunciation; 阿 originally meant a big mound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Appears in